About Crowder College Professional Driver Training School

Thursday, Nov 30 2017 Staff Writer

For future truck drivers in Missouri, there is a new outlet for training to be a professional trucker. At the Crowder College Professional Driver Training School, you can learn everything you need to get a CDL. This training also ensures you are ready for the rigors of the road as a commercial OTR truck driver. Learn more about what this training includes for student drivers and how you can get started today.

About Crowder College

Crowder College is located in Neosho, Missouri in the southwestern part of the state about 30 minutes south of Joplin. The small town of Neosho is known as the Gateway to the Ozark Mountains. This location was once a hot stop along the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad. Today residents work in manufacturing at the chemical plant BASF, sofa factory at Laz-Z-Boy, and a wire products manufacturer at Leggett & Platt. These industrial businesses have also generated a great need to train truck drivers in Missouri to be able to transport these products out of the region.

Crowder College was founded in 1963 as a two-year community college. Today the school educates more than 5,000 students annually in over 80 degree and certificate programs. The campus offers housing at the Brown Housing Complex or the Roughrider Village Apartments, as well as meals at the Dining Hall and The Grill. There is also a fitness center for students at the NeoshoYCMA. As a student enrolled in the Crowder College Professional Driver Training School, you would have access to all of these services and amenities.

The school’s main campus is in Neosho. However, there are other campuses across the state including in Joplin, Webb City, McDonald County, Cassville, and Nevada. This community college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and uses the Academic Quality Improvement Project standards to ensure that students receive high-quality training. Therefore, when you attend the Crowder College Professional Driver Training School, you are assured you will receive a top-notch education that prepares you for the real world of trucking.

Truck Driving Division

The trucking school division is focused on transport training, which is essential for OTR and LTL truck drivers hauling freight. Additionally, the school is partners with several of the leading trucking companies in the US including:

CFI

Covenant Transport

JB Hunt

Maverick

Paschall Truck Lines

Schneider National

Stevens Transport

Swift

TMC

TransAm

Tyson

USA Truck

Werner Enterprises

WSE

US Xpress Enterprises

What this means for student drivers in Missouri at Crowder College is that these trucking companies recognize this program as an approved trucking school. Therefore, if you choose to work for a trucking company that is partnered with the school, you can rest assured the carrier will honor your training.

More importantly, Crowder College is most likely going to offer you job recruitment services from these companies when you attend trucking school here. This makes it easier to get a pre-hire letter from trucking companies who guarantee you a spot at trucking orientation. This pre-hire letter ensures you have a trucking job opportunity when you graduate, and student drivers want to get as many of these as possible.

Trucking School Timeline and Tuition

The trucking school at Crowder College is a five-week training program. You complete all of your training on campus, which is convenient thanks to the on-campus housing and dining services. Training classes start every five weeks beginning in January and going through November. For example, students who begin on January 16, 2018, graduate on February 16, 2018, while students who start on November 5, 2018, graduate on December 7, 2018.

The total price for trucking school is $3,950. If you need student housing, this costs an additional $825 for the full course, and it includes all of your meals via the on-campus dining hall. You can pay for the admission in cash or credit, or get a student loan or federal grant through the college.

Getting Started with Trucking School

To enroll in the training program you must be at least 18 years old, but this will only allow you to train for intrastate operations for regional trucking jobs. If you want to train for OTR trucking jobs that cross state lines, you must be 21 years old to go through the school. This is a federal mandate based on DOT rules and regulations.

Additionally, you must have a commercial driver’s license permit prior to the start of class. Once you complete the training, you will have earned a professional truck driver certificate along with the skill set needed to start working as a commercial trucker.

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